Cultivar and harvest date effects on flavor and other quality attributes of California strawberries

Aromas, Diamante and Selva strawberries were harvested in early and mid-season and evaluated for quality attributes, flavor components, fermentative metabolites and physiological characteristics. Preference and flavor tests by consumer panels were also conducted. Cultivar variation was greater than harvest date variation as were differences in color, concentrations of anthocyanins, firmness, total soluble solids, sugars, pH, titratable acidity (TA), organic acids and aroma compounds. Diamante and Selva had higher aroma quality than Aromas fruits. The levels of fermentative metabolites were too low to have an impact on the aroma quality. Diamante and Selva strawberries had better overall flavor quality and were more preferred by consumers than Aromas. These differences were consistent over two harvest dates.